Magical Mysterious Dragons

My sister Letha is hosting this Paper Traders swap on dragons. Here's my submission (I'm trying to always include an extra card for my niece Quincy who's not an official PT member but is participating with us from the sidelines.)

Guardian Angel

For the second anniversary of Paper Traders, we're creating guardian angels... here's mine:



We'll be swapping them soon! I wonder whose I'll get...

Twisted Inch

The point of this swap is the tiny little inchie on this card. The theme was "the twisted inch" so I used a little wire twist to make a flower:

Calendar

Our Paper Traders group does a calendar every year and this is my submission for December:



I know that it's not very seasonal, but some of our members are in the southern hemisphere and so the calendar doesn't have any seasons to it.

RR Journal 2007 - part 1

So here's the project that has been consuming all my time and mental energy... The Paper Traders Round Robin Art Journal!

My theme is Chinese Proverbs. Here is what I have for my book so far...


Front Cover


Inside Front Cover & Instruction Sheet


Inside Back Cover and Contributors Page


Sign In Tag for my pages (to be inserted in the red envelope shown above)


My first full spread


Half spread... facing the following page:


My final half spread (facing the page shown above)

I wanted to have more pages done before I sent the book on, but just didn't have the time (or muse) to get them done... I'm still thinking about things I want to add when my book returns next year, though.

The first person I pass to is Fred in Escondido. I am still waiting to hear from him because he lives near the area evacuated for the Witch Fire. The first journal I receive is my mom, Connie's (see link for Stampgram's Studio). Her theme is Ancient Cultures and I think I'm going to decorate a spread on the Mayans.

Any Theme Goes Dimensional ATC Swap

These are for an upcoming Paper Traders swap where you needed to use a dimensional object:



I loved these carved stone creatures and have been saving them for something fun! My little "bubbles" dried kinda weird but, oh well...

October WTA Lottery

Here's my submission for this month's Winner-Take-All lottery on Paper Traders:



It's a super simple card, but I like it because it's just so pretty!

Black, White, and a Smidgen of Color

These are my ATC contributions for the Black, White, and a Smidgen of Color swap:

Bird Deco swap

These are my pages for the upcoming Bird Deco swap. I tried to decorate these based on the seasons: Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer (shown respectively, below...)

Gothic Arch swap

While on vacation last week, I finally managed to complete this overdue project...

I had to submit 6 pages and will get 6 different ones back from the other artists. Here is a scan of one of my pages - they were all the same but slightly different just because each one was hand done:



This will be a book once completed... here are my front and back covers (inside and out):

Something for Mary

Mary is a lady in my Paper Traders group who always manages to find great extras to use in altered art and collage work. She has an eBay store but offered some extras to our group members and has asked for an ATC in exchange. This is the card I made for her:



It's hard to tell from the scan, but the dragonfly and the letters on the background have a violet interference powder on them. I used VersaMark to stamp the background and I used a glue pad to stamp the dragonfly and then applied the PearlEx powder over all. The scrolls are rub-ons that I got from Archivers and I think they are awesome!

Something Green

Just another ATC... just for fun. I'm entering this one in the Paper Traders' September Winner-Take-All Lottery:

Haunted House Swap

I am hosting my first swap for my Paper Traders group. It's a haunted house theme, just in time for Halloween! Below are the four cards I made for the swap. I transferred the images from color photocopies onto old text (from a book published in 1884) using gel medium.


Old houses are inhabited by secrets of the past.


Old houses tell the stories of time and happenstance.


Old houses are not haunted by ghosts; but the spirit of those who once lived there still abides.


Old houses are not scary - the fear is only in you; have courage to discover its mystery.

more ATC's

Yet another attempt at the peeled paint process... I think I am improving.


This was one I did just for fun:

More Peeled Paint

Here's my second attempt at this peeled paint technique:

I think that my next try will be even better as I am learning how to layer the peeling colors.

Two New Techniques

Tonight, I tried a couple of new techniques... this first one is peeled paint:

(The card is a little odd, but it was just for practice.)

This second card is one of my favorites! I love the way it turned out. This is a transfer ink method where I used a solution to transfer a printed image to my paper (the eyes in the background):

(The colors didn't scan quite right... this card is more lavender-ish.)

Post Secrets Swap

This swap is based on the Post Secrets phenomenon: http://postsecret.blogspot.com/




(I love you, Amy, and I am so proud of your accomplishment!)








(disclaimer: the manager is a friend of mine and he lets me do this =)

Art Forms in Nature Swap

Written in Early Spring

I heard a thousand blended notes
While in a grove I sate reclined,
In that sweet mood when pleasant thoughts
Bring sad thoughts to the mind.

To her fair works did Nature link
The human soul that through me ran;
And much it grieved my heart to think
What Man has made of Man.

Through primrose tufts, in that sweet bower,
The periwinkle trail’d its wreaths;
And 'tis my faith that every flower
Enjoys the air it breathes.

The birds around me hopp'd and play'd,
Their thoughts I cannot measure,—
But the least motion which they made
It seem'd a thrill of pleasure.

The budding twigs spread out their fan
To catch the breezy air;
And I must think, do all I can,
That there was pleasure there.

If this belief from heaven be sent,
If such be Nature's holy plan,
Have I not reason to lament
What Man has made of Man?

William Wordsworth














(All the words and shading on the front of the cards are metallic silver... some just turned out black in the scanner.)

Through and Through

I made this ATC for a friend in my Paper Traders group who has been so gracious in sharing his art with me:

New ATC Swaps

I made this card for a swap called "Music Gladdens the Soul."




This card was for another swap called "In Remembrance" where we were to illustrate ways in which we honor our dead.